Forged of Fire (31 page)

The sound of hurried steps behind Ash broke the silence. Then, after a few concerned mumblings and a shuffling of feet, a roar like none he had ever heard erupted from Dante. “Bring her to me!” He ordered. Dante’s legs stepped alongside Ash. “Let’s show the crowd what happens to benders that dare to use their witchcraft on me!” He snarled the venomous words.

No!
Ash reached out and grabbed one of Dante’s calf muscles, stilling him on contact. It was the first time Ash had ever laid a hand on his creator. He knew full well that the small action would seal his fate but he didn’t care. All that mattered now was Kielyn’s life. “No!” He rasped.

“Look at me!” Dante commanded above him.

Ash made to lift his head but he was too weak. He had lost too much blood. His head fell back down. “Please.”

Dante knelt beside him and forced Ash’s head up by gripping his jaw roughly in his hand. His angry eyes searched Ash’s but something else was hidden deep in the other male’s stare. Behind the rage was the question. The desire that had been there since the beginning. Ash had given the secret suggestion the moment he had touched Dante’s leg. In all the years of slavery, Ash had never placed his flesh on the Original Vampire. Despite the countless times it had been ordered. Ash had always refused and taken the beatings that would follow. To the on looking crowd it looked only like a plea, but Ash and Dante both knew the gesture was so much more than that. It was submission.

“Please what?”

“Please let her go,” Ash said weakly. “She means nothing to you.”

Dante leaned in closer. “Ah, but she means so much to you.”

Ash stared hard into his maker’s eyes. “And without her alive I will fight you for the rest of my life.”

Dante held his gaze for several long seconds. “And if I let her go, you will give yourself freely over to me?”

“You have my word.” Ash said.

“Father!” Zander’s voice called out from the scaffolding. “She is the chosen one. Let me kill her in private. To do so in public would be to start a war.” Ash knew he lied. Zander wanted Kielyn for himself. The cold, hard fact made Ash’s resolve even more resolute as he fought to push down the threatening Dragon. Forcing the beast to subside had been a battle within itself but no good would come from unleashing it. Sure, he could kill Dante once and for all, but not before one of Dante’s guards killed Kielyn. If his young mate was to live, Ash would have to give over his body and soul freely. “My King.” Zander addressed his father again, but still Dante kept his eyes on Ash. “He is a Dragon!” Zander shouted.

The crowd around them gasped collectively. Dante’s eyes grew large and his head snapped around to look at his son. “Seize him!”

Zander paled. “Father no! It is the truth. You are in grave danger!” He yelled as guard’s grabbed hold of him and began yanking him off the scaffolding. “He will kill you the second you turn your back!”

“Take him to the dungeon!” Dante ordered and turned back to Ash, a demented gleam in his golden orbs. “I will have a special ceremony in your honor tomorrow.”

This was the monster Ash knew all too well. Only a psychopath could beat someone nearly to death and then throw a party for them the next day. Ash bit back the disgust. Kielyn was just starting to recover consciousness on the stage. He had to keep up the act. “Are you not going to ask if it’s true?”

Dante’s grip on his face dropped and he ran the back of his hand down Ash’s cheek tenderly. “Oh my dear child,” he whispered. “I know it’s true. I have known you were a Dragon since you were a boy.” He smiled. “Why else would I love you so?”

He had known all along?
Of course he did
. It all made sense. Ash needed to tread carefully now. Too much effort and Dante would know. “Your son makes a good point. How do you know you can trust me?”

“Ashdon, you came back to me. You caged your inner beast and allowed me to punish you. You did all this to save that girl.” Dante looked back at Kielyn. “Release her and the Air-bender.” He looked back to Ash, his eyes showing zero emotion now. “A Dragon’s greatest weakness is their loyalty. You are willing to die to save someone you love. Just like your mother did for you.” He wiped blood from Ash’s brow. “Your loyalty to her will keep your word to me.”

“You can’t just let them go!” Katara protested from the sidelines. “I’m the reason you have your pet back. At least let me have some sport in return.”

Dante patted Ash’s cheek before standing. “Very well daughter. Escort the two females to the forest borders with a hunting party of your choice.”

“Dante!” Ash began to panic.

Dante snatched Ash’s head back by his hair, forcing him to look up into his eyes. “You will address me as your King!” He pushed his head back down and continued to address Katara. “Once you set them free, give them a ten minute head start. If you manage to catch them before they make it to the border you can have them. If not, you must return home and be satisfied I gave you that much.”

With that, Dante strolled back into the castle leaving Ash tied to the pole in a pool of his own blood. It was the smart thing to do, Ash thought. Leave him too weak to possibly interfere with what would or would not happen next. Ash looked up as Kielyn and Marsala were marched down the podium. His eyes latched onto his mate’s.
Be strong.
Ash then locked sights with Marsala.
Save her!

****

“Something is wrong!” Kizer said. The young blond bender, recently turned immortal, rushed into the parlor where Alaric was meticulously strategizing as Stefen was trying to get drunk. Stefen turned from the window as his brother lifted his regal head from the ledgers on the desk. “Skyler is channeling me. They are in danger!” He rushed. “I can’t make out the rest. It’s like the message is being blocked. She is an Original, I thought she would be able to still communicate with me whereas others cannot bridge the void of Hell?”

Stefen looked to his brother who said nothing. “We have to do something, Alaric!”

Alaric continued to remain silent as he sat back in the chair. “I assumed Bane turned you,” he addressed Kizer. “Are you not his protégé?”

“Yes, I am, but he had Skyler do my transformation,” the younger male said, a look of confusion as to why it mattered on his face. “I need to cross over. They need help!”

“What was his reasoning for having his mate turn you instead of himself?” Alaric ignored the Water-benders suicidal suggestion of entering Hell on his own.

Despite his own mounting anxiety that Kielyn was in danger, Stefen was very interested in the young bender’s answer too. There was a bigger picture here and Alaric had latched onto the oddity in Kizer’s transformation like a dog to a bone. A bond between master and protégé was expected. Why would Bane have given his mate, who was not Kizer’s master, the connection instead of himself? Something was missing. Bane had also chosen to get a new Gilcolm for the newly turned Vampire. Why, when the Water-King had a slew of them already?

“I don’t see why that matters,” Kizer said, irritated now. “I’m going to help them!” He turned and headed for the door just to have it magically shut in his face.

“Don’t be stupid,” Alaric said. “You are too young to cross over. You would be killed the second you entered Hell! And, if you were not, how would you even know where to go?” He held up a silencing hand when the other male opened his mouth to protest. “Spare me the heroics. Answer my first question. What was his reason for not turning you himself?”

Kizer sighed. “He said that Skyler being an Original would be better as her blood was stronger than his.”

Stefen glanced over to Alaric. It was a lie. The look his brother passed back to Stefen showed that he knew it too. Skyler’s Original blood was no different than Bane’s since the Water-King had also been turned by Dante himself. Why would Bane lie to his protégé? Better yet, why not turn him? If anything, Bane’s blood would be stronger than his mate’s because he was also a Water-bender like Kizer. It made no sense. Stefen looked back to Kizer. “Did you get your maker’s message with any emotion attached to it or do her thoughts come to you more like words on a letter. Like an archaic S.O.S transcript?”

“They come to me as if she is in the room so yes, emotion was attached. She is scared. Trying to stay strong but I sensed her fear.” Kizer answered honestly.

“Did Bane give you a reason for why he gave you a brand new Gilcolm and not one already employed?” Alaric probed further.

“I need my own! A Gilcolm is most loyal to their main master. If I shared one of his, their loyalty would be divided between us, making it hard on the Gilcolm to be unbiased in the future. Everyone knows this!” Kizer threw up his hands, exasperated. “Can we focus on getting them out of Hell instead of a Gilcolm tutorial?”

He was correct, Stefen mused. Sort of. That rule only applied to main Gilcolms. Like Bane’s favorite blood slave, Samson. However, a secondary Gilcolm could have easily been given to Kizer as his main blood slave. Bane was being unusually guarded with his staff. Why? Stefen tried to think back on Ash and his reasons for picking out Kielyn’s Gilcolm. Ash had been concerned about a Gilcolm becoming aroused by his mate or worse, the reverse. Bane did not strike Stefen as the jealous type so being selfish with his toys did not equate. “Loyalty!” The word rushed out before he could stop it. Alaric looked over to him sharply. Stefen knew the silent command to shut up all too well from his older brother. “I think Kizer is right, brother.” He reversed directions quickly. “Should he go wake the other benders and ready them for what is to come next while we devise the best way to get in?”

“I agree,” Alaric said, looking back to the anxious Water-bender. “Please go alert the others that we need them to start getting prepared.” He stood and waved his hand, opening the double doors. “And Kizer, don’t even consider doing anything by yourself. Understand?”

Kizer nodded and hurried from the room. “The only thing I can think of as to why Bane selected a brand new Gilcolm for his protégé is loyalty,” Stefen said once the doors closed back up. “Any slave that would have fed from Bane in the past would have knowledge of his secrets. That is why Vampires don’t like to share. But what’s interesting is that a secondary blood slave would be loyal to Kizer if given over.”

“And?” Alaric said.

“The Gilcolm would be obligated to divulge any past secrets of his secondary host to his new main one if asked,” Stefen went on. “So if Kizer ever doubted Bane, all he would have to do would be to seek information from his loyal slave.”

“So either Bane does not trust his new recruit or he wishes to hide things from him.” Alaric paused, thinking. “Which would explain why he did not turn him himself. He does not want a direct mental tie to Kizer. But why?”

“He is hiding something.” Stefen began to walk to the door. “And the kid is right, we have to find some way to help them.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to the realm’s border of Hell. I need to see if an old ally feels like sharing her secrets again.” Stefen said.

“Brother!” Alaric stopped him. “Don’t do anything rash.” He implored him with his eyes.

Stefen grinned. “So, don’t be me?”

“Exactly!” Alaric leveled him with the older sibling look Stefen knew all too well.

“I shall endeavor to try brother,” Stefen tossed lightly over his shoulder as he strolled from the room. He had to somehow summon Pythia. The Oracle had practically shoved Stefen into Kielyn and Ash’s path, now she needed to enlighten him as to why.

****

“Clever little skill you had back there with my father.” Katara removed the cuffs from Kielyn’s wrist and leaned in. “Too bad you are not strong enough yet to finish him off,” she whispered. “Perhaps next time.” She licked the side of Kielyn’s cheek before stepping back and flicking her tongue over her fangs. “Tasty.” She grinned. “I see why both my brothers desire you so.”

One of Katara’s sinister looking henchmen undid Marsala’s cuffs and stepped back, a gleam of excitement for the hunt glistening in his red eyes. Kielyn shivered. She was so very weak but they had to outrun them. Ash’s life depended on it. They had to make it to safety, get the blood Kielyn so badly needed to regain her strength and figure out a way to rescue him. She was utterly useless here without her strength.